Jokinen powers Coyotes past Sharks

Nov 10, 2008 - 5:14 AM
GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Once again, the Phoenix Coyotes
received support from both their veteran leader and budding
stars.

Olli Jokinen scored two goals and Peter Mueller added a
power-play tally as the Coyotes snapped the San Jose Sharks'
seven-game win streak with a 4-2 triumph on Sunday.

The 28th overall pick in June's draft, Viktor Tikhonov recorded
his first career goal and Jokinen followed with his first of the
game 27 seconds later midway through the first period. Jokinen,
who had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win against the Florida
Panthers on Saturday, added an empty-net goal with the man
advantage with 18 seconds remaining in the third to seal the
win.

"I think it is a unique group and we know those young guys are
good and solid," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said. "They are
only going to get better, but there is a good core of veteran
players who have taken these guys under their wing - so it is a
nice mix.

"The intriguing part is we know that we are going to be better a
week from now, two months from now because this team is going to
get better and it is really fun to be around."

Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 30 shots - including 15 in the final
session - in his sixth consecutive start to help Phoenix notch
its second straight victory.

"In order to be competitive, you have to have outstanding
goaltending and we have been getting first-rate goaltending, as
good as anyone in the league right now," Gretzky said.
"(Bryzgalov) is making big saves; key saves right now."

Defenseman Dan Boyle and Ryane Clowe each scored power-play
goals in the first, but the Sharks were silenced in the final 40
minutes as they lost for the first time since October 24.

"We turned the puck over in our own zone that gave them some
life then the very next shift," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said.
"We didn't respond and gave the puck up again. We were on our
heels and it took a while to get back into it; too little too
late."

After the Sharks gained a 2-0 lead, the Coyotes netted four
unanswered goals en route posting their third win in their last
four games.

"I don't know if we came into the game and were pacing ourselves
for the third period, but there was more left in the tank than
we gave in the first two periods," McLellan said. "We weren't
up for the game tonight and I think the final score showed."

Tikhonov cut their deficit to one with 7:53 remaining in the
first and Jokinen forged a tie with his sixth goal of the
season. Stationed on the right doorstep, Jokinen took a rebound
and skated around the net before lifting a backhander over a
sprawling Brian Boucher.

"For us beating them, it is a huge moral boost," Tikhonov said.
"We know that every game you have to go hard and to the end. So
we knew we had to go to the forecheck and the defense late. We
came back and didn't panic early."

Starting his second straight game for the injured Evgeni
Nabokov, Boucher made 26 saves.

"I thought we had let down after we got it to 2-0," Boucher
said. "We got a little casual there and it ended up costing us.
They were really hungry we should have put the pedal down and we
didn't."

He was exposed again, though, as Mueller gave the Coyotes a lead
they would not relinquish two minutes into the second, firing a
wrister from the slot in the midst of traffic.

"We have been talking all week about getting bodies to the net
and, as you can see, there were about four or five goals there
and the goalie never saw it," Mueller said.

Phoenix received some help with a four-minute high-sticking
penalty on Boyle with 2:06 remaining and a hooking call against
Marc-Edouard Vlasic just 30 seconds later, leaving the Sharks
shorthanded in the final minutes leading up to Jokinen's second
scoring strike of the game.

"They are a team that brings a good work ethic and they have
some good young players," Boucher said. "Adding Jokinen to the
team has made them more dangerous, so we have a ton of respect
for them."

The Sharks were also without right wing Jonathan Cheechoo, who
missed his second straight game with a lingering upper-body
injury.